It’s been out of order for 3 days after I tried to “automatically” update the WordPress software. If anyone has a quick fix, let me know. Otherwise, we’ll try to get it back to normal tomorrow.

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What were kids most interested in and curious about in 2009? Parents can tell a lot from monitoring internet searches, which may also alert them to possible topics they may need to discuss with their kids. On a more macro level, Norton has identified the top searches conducted by kids in 2009 through data from OnlineFamily.Norton, a free family safety service that parents can use to protect kids online.

Do You Know What Your Kids Are Looking For Online?

Norton looked at the top 100 searches conducted by kids age 18 and under and also broke down results by age and gender. Some of the top terms may surprise parents. “Sex” and “Porn” made it to the top overall search terms for both Teens group and “Sex” for the Tweens group. These terms should raise a red flag to parents if they haven’t had “The Talk” with their children about content that may not be appropriate for kids. Kids’ top three overall search terms in 2009 were YouTube, Google, and Facebook. While these sites can be entertaining and educational for kids under supervision, parents need to monitor usage and talk to kids about appropriate and inappropriate things they may find on-line.

Teens’ Top 25

1. YouTube 2. Facebook 3. Google 4. Sex

5. MySpace 6. Porn 7. Yahoo 8. Youtube.com 9. eBay

10. Wikipedia

Tweens’ Top 25

1. YouTube 2. Google 3. Facebook 4. Sex

5. Club Penguin 6. Youtube.com 7. You Tube 8. Miniclip

9. Yahoo 10. eBay

7 & Under Top 25

1. YouTube 2. Google 3. Facebook 4. Porn

5. Club Penguin 6. Yahoo 7. Webkinz 8. You Tube

9. Games 10. Miniclip

We use Safari installed on a Mac in our family room that the kids use periodically to play games. When they are logged into their account, Safari only allows them to surf to sites we’ve approved. We don’t allow them to look at YouTube and other sites without us being there to control the buttons. Our kids are still only 5 and 9 so that is bound to change soon.

Norton offers the basic OnlineFamily.Norton at no charge, but plans to launch a premium subscription version later in 2010.

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Google recently launched a flu shot locator, which uses Google Maps to show you nearby locations offering seasonal and/or H1N1 flu vaccine: http://www.google.com/flushot

You can find this information on a standalone page as well as in Google search results when you search for terms like [flu], [flu shot], [h1n1 shot] and [flu vaccine].

Also, make sure to check out flu news and how to stay healthy at http://flu.gov.

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My kids are 5 and 9, and we are always trying to keep them away from all the evils the 21st century has in store. It may seem really antediluvian, but that includes PG-rated movies, Nintendo DS-style solitary video games, the wild and wooly internet, and even email. The longer we can put off the inevitable, the greater the chance that we will have an intersection of knowledge gained at the appropriate maturity level. My pulse races at what things my son and daughter might see if we didn’t work hard at this.

Some day soon my daughter is going to “require” email though, I’m sure since she has many friends whose parents are more liberal than we are when it comes to these things. Email is a great thing, and I’m tempted to give it to her today so she can write to her grandmas and aunt and uncle. But I’m also worried that it’s a Pandora’s box with some unpleasant surprises very quickly in store. I certainly don’t want to see her getting spam for low mortgage rates or black market Viagra, or worse.

There are now products though that open up email to little kids without fear. One is the Etendi BRIDGE, a product we gave our GreatDad.com Recommends seal to earlier this year. This site is subscription based and allows communication, IM and video, between a very limited number of people and was designed more for kids and faraway relatives than it is for young girls. I’ve encouraged them to consider a variation on this site for limited kids’ social networks.

Another is My Secret Circle, a USB-based device that allows your daughter (this is a “girl-oriented” product) to connect with friends in a safe and secure environment. The USB key is required to enter the website and use its functions including a personal Facebook-like page, chat/IM, email and games. Friends must have a My Secret Circle USB “key” as well to interact, and must be given a written out “Friend Code” to find each other on the site. My Secret Circle costs $19.99 on Amazon, and an extra BFF USB key is available for $10.

This product is developed for kids 8+ and is designed for this age group with appropriate messaging. Unfortunately, there is no parent supervision function, which might be problematic for two reasons. One, if the site password is ever forgotten for any reason, there is no way to retrieve it, unlike most sites that are tied to an adult’s email. Second, and more serious, is that there is no monitoring function for parents. While kids need private spaces, 8-10 year old kids are still very young to have completely private online spaces that might need to be monitored in many very easily imaginable situations.

Our favorite option right now is the magazine/website developed my New Moon Media, called NewMoonGirls.com. While this site does not have email, it does have many of the functions that My Secret Circle has like forums and IM with one key difference: it is completely monitored in the background by adults who see every word written. My daughter loves the magazine, which comes every two months.

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We’ve been in France this week and I’ve been chasing my kids around in the house where we’re staying to get them to turn off the lights as they go in and out of rooms. While French kids, like kids everywhere, are lazy about recycling and other conservation moves, for some reason, everyone here treats electricity like a running faucet. They just wouldn’t leave a room without turning the light off. My kids keep all the lights on everywhere as if we were in the middle of a night game at Yankee Stadium.

No amount of haranguing to them, or my wife, seems to make any difference. They just say, “yes, Dad” and move on to the next brilliantly lit room.

Here’s an idea some PR flack sent me this morning though and it’s a good enough idea to pass on, playing as it does on dad’s desire to cut back on costs and energy waste, teach good habits, and involve the kids.

“Moolah Maker” is the name of website with a tool to help you set a family goal for energy savings. By entering your energy bills, the site sets a family goal and creates a contract between you and your kids. Apparently, the kids/parents interface is a little hokey with a lot of “hey dude” lingo, but the idea is a good one since kids always want to earn some cash and this doesn’t take a lot of energy they could be using to swing the Wii controller. This project might make getting the monthly utility bill a family bonding experience.

[From the Energy Circle Moolah Maker website:

Kids are the greatest power source on the planet.
Unleash that force, save the earth and reap some profit. It’s easier than you think, and more important than ever. Together, kids and parents across North America are making a deal to use less and save more. Go ahead, shake on it.

The site lists a bunch of tips for energy savings:

Tips for Saving (and making more $) fast:

   * Get an Electricity Monitor. There’s no better way to save than to see your usage in real time.

   * Use smart strips. Slay the entertainment center and computer vampires. Smart Strips rock.

   * Ditch your incandescent bulbs (say it isn’t so… still have some? Not good.)

   * Hang a clothesline. (big savings, and excellent fodder for neighbors). Dryers eat Benjamins.

   * Use low-flow showerheads. Hot water takes heat. Kids like long showers. Use less.

   * Fill up the dishwasher. (Hallelujah! It uses less hot water than hand-washing)

   * Chill out with fans, not the AC. A little breeze makes it feel 4-8 degrees cooler.

Tips for Going Deeper

   * Figure out your baseload—the stuff that’s on 24/7. Does it all need to be? Find out.

   * Hire a Certified Professional Energy Auditor. And take notes. Find out how to lower energy costs quickly and efficiently.

   * Get programmable thermostats and compromise a degree or two (way easy, double smart)

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Webkinz is a fun game for kids who are less than ten years old. I think Webkinz is better than Club Penguin. On Webkinz.com, you can buy more rooms, you can send packages, you can even chose your own wall paper and flooring and much more! Webkinz has more advantages then any other computer game. Webkinz, unlike Club Penguin, has another site that is good for kids who are just starting to read. Webkinz is a fun game for all children!

By Hadley (age 9), owner of Julianna, a Webkinz Golden Retriever.

Dad’s POV: Webkinz Jr. is for pre-readers so a lot of it is easier for them to do. As a parent, I’m kind of amazed that they have the motivation to play sorting games with little “wow” factor and dead-slow animation, but it’s a testament to Webkinz that kids seem to stay intrigued. The concepts are pretty easy to grasp, so a lot can be done without mom and dad’s involvement, which may or not be a good thing.

Webkinz Jr., like the regular Webkinz cost from $20- $30. They have a “cute” factor that kids love, though adults might find they are not as well made as other plush toys. The kids are more interested in the game in this case, and I haven’t seen my kids anyway, focus to much on the similarity of their real live doll to the one featured on the screen.

Like Club Penguin, there are security features so that kids can’t chat with other kids (or adults) unlimitedly. Kids are limited to a selection of simple phrases and questions, such “hello.”

A deluxe membership will soon be available that includes more activities and a section that allows parents to track their child’s involvement with different parts of the site. It would seem that at this price, this would be included.

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GreatDad.com has always been a collection of many voices of the dad experience. Rather than one man’s opinion, we have had many writers including twelve author contributors who have domain expertise in some aspect of fatherhood, from medical to humor to psychological. Many many people have asked us to include their voices in the site but we felt we had to limit our contributors just so we could understand all of the content we were curating.

Now we feel we can expand our perspective to tell the stories of even more dads. One way to do this is to add guest blogs to GreatDad.com. Soon, you will be seeing graphic changes to the blog to represent the inclusion of many other voices. For now, you may notice new authors of posts and in the Authors section in the sidebar. I will introduce our newest author in a separate post. And, we’ll have other news soon on how we’ll be adding more new viewpoints to GreatDad.com. We may even add a mom or two.

For those of you, friends and family, who only want to follow my particular thoughts, recommendations, and observations on my kids, you can find the official GreatDad Blog at GreatDad.com/GreatDadblog.

If you’re interested in adding your blog RSS feed to the GreatDad blog, please let me know in the comments section and I’ll let get back to you quickly. While we can’t include everyone, I want to get as many different perspectives as possible while putting extra emphasis on the quality of writing including humor and insight.

Thanks to readers and writer for making GreatDad an enthusiastic source of ideas on modern parenting.

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Check out our friends Buttoned Up (www.getbuttonedup.com) for lifestyle and family organizing tips and tricks. I’m also their featured Guest Guru of the Week. How I got title, I’ll never know. As my wife will attest (or complain), I am not super-organized. Or, maybe I’m organized, but have way to much stuff. Having kids, though, forces you to get a few things in order.

1. Photos are top of the list because if you don’t get a system you’ll be awash in digital ink like Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. Find one computer and keep everything on it. Don’t let anyone put photos on any other machine until you make sure to have one major repository that you know is complete, and that you BACK UP. With mulitple cameras,phones, and computers, the temptation is to have multiple collections as you load and erase cards. Not a good plan if you don’t want major gaps. Start now and never look back.

2. Okay, wills and trust should have been first. Get this done before the baby arrives and update it with every new child or change in situation. Not enough can be said about the value of this, even if assets are short right now. Your biggest assets are your family and you have to plan who would take care of them in the worst of situations. In fact, that is the one thing you need in your will.

3. Start a 521B education savings plan for the kids, even if it’s just $100. Saving for college will take 18 years. Don’t put it off even for a few years.

4. Organize your medical information in a file box in the kitchen where you can get to it easily with each doctor visit. Even if you are lucky not have any major health concerns, keeping good records of doctor advice and kids’ development will come in handy when you forget what to do for some periodic malady that rears it’s head in the middle of the night. Likewise, keep all the medical research books in a handy place where you can find them.

Get Buttoned Up has lots of tools and ideas to organize yourself better. If you’re the kind of person who needs that for a kick in the pants, or needs it feel you have it all under control, that’s the place to go!

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GreatDad.com is one of nine daddy sites mentioned at 100 Best Health Blogs for Soon-to-be Moms.

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Today’s Twitters are often tomorrow’s quitters, according to data that questions the long-term success of the latest social networking sensation used by celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Britney Spears.

Data from Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, found that more than 60 percent of Twitter users stopped using the free social networking site a month after joining.

[From Many Twitters are quick quitters: study | U.S. | Reuters]

I tried it, found it interesting, but ultimately frustrating. I found lots of people doing kid stuff, writing blogs, selling gear. However, whenever I reached out to them with specific questions, I think they were overwhelmed with tallying their followers or lost in a pile of 140 letter haikus, because almost no one responded! And, these were legitimate business inquiries from people who said they wanted to hear from any time in their “thanks for following me” messages.

Has your experience been different? I’d love to know. I’ve read other articles on this now, and I’m a short-seller on Twitter, though our blog does post to it. Let me know your thoughts in comments.

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